Hitherto, most hammer-driving of long piles has entailed the use of leads which are usually mounted on a crane. A pile is engaged in the leads and a hammer, sliding on a trackway in the leads, drives the pile into the ground. Such leads may be as much as 120' or more in height. Not only are they expensive and cumbersome, but there is an element of danger, particularly for the loftsman. Leadless driving with a so-called "wild hammer" is generally unsatisfactory because of difficulties first in locating and holding the lower end of the pile precisely at the spot where it is to be driven, and secondly, in hitting hammer blows squarely onto the top of the pile, and thirdly, in getting the pile to go straight down. While leadless sonic hammer pile driving is useful in some situations, there are earth formations in which hammer-blow driving is superior. Besides the rapidly moving eccentric weights of a sonic hammer cause serious maintenance problems.